Postbuckling of functionally graded cylindrical shells based on improved Donnell equations

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the buckling and postbuckling of functionally graded cylindrical shells subjected to axial and transversemechanical loads incorporating the effects of temperature. Material properties are assumed to be temperature independent, and graded in the thickness direction accordingto a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium equations for perfect cylindrical shells are derived by using improved Donnell shell theory taking into account geometrical nonlinearity. One-term approximate solution is assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and closed-form expressions of buckling loads and load-deflection curves are determined by Galerkin method. Analysis shows the effects of material and the geometric parameters, buckling mode, pre-existent axial compressive and thermal loads on the nonlinear response of the shells

Numerical and Small-scale Physical Modelling of Wave Transmission by Wooden Fences

Mangrove forests, that often act as natural coastal defences, enormously suffered due to ongoing climate change and human disturbances. Thus, it is necessary to have a countermeasure to mitigate the loss of mangroves. Wooden fences are becoming a viable nature-based solution to protect vulnerable replanted mangrove forests. However, the wooden fence's hydraulic characteristics are not yet fully understood due to the complication of branches arrangement. In the present study, a small-scale wave flume modelling of wave damping by a wooden fence was constructed using the inner branches as an inhomogeneous arrangement tested in earlier flow-resistance experiments. The physical model results indicate that the wooden fence is highly effective on wave transmission and that the effectiveness in wave reduction depends on the relative fence thickness, B/Hi. To understand the scale effect on wave transmission further, the numerical model SWASH was used with the laboratory wave data. By applying the prior experiments' drag coefficient on steady flow, the uncalibrated numerical model gave a good agreement with the wave model results, with a root-mean-square error for the total transmitted wave heights of 4.7%. After validation, potential scale effects for small scale tests were determined from scaling simulations at both full scales and the applied 1:5 model scale. These simulations were performed for a fence porosity of 0.81, and different fence thicknesses to understand scale effects between model- and full-scale. Both wave reflection and transmission at model-scale are about 5% higher than full-scale results due to the increased drag coefficient and viscous effects. The effects of fence thickness and porosity were the same in large and small scale, and much larger than the error due to scale effects. Hence testing fence efficiency at physical small scale is regarded as a useful tool, together with numerical modelling.Coastal EngineeringHydraulic Structures and Flood Ris

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Effects of water scarcity awareness and climate change belief on recycled water usage willingness: Evidence from New Mexico, United States

The global water crisis is being exacerbated by climate change, even in the United States. Recycled water is a feasible alternative to alleviate the water shortage, but it is constrained by humans’ perceptions. The current study examines how residents’ water scarcity awareness and climate change belief influence their willingness to use recycled water directly and indirectly. Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics was employed on a dataset of 1831 residents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an arid inland region in the US. We discovered that residents’ willingness to use direct recycled potable water is positively affected by their awareness of water scarcity, but the effect is conditional on their belief in the impacts of climate change on the water cycle. Meanwhile, the willingness to use indirect recycled potable water is influenced by water scarcity awareness, and the belief in climate change further enhances this effect. These findings implicate that fighting climate change denialism and informing the public of the water scarcity situation in the region can contribute to the effectiveness and sustainability of long-term water conservation and climate change alleviation efforts

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p < 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p < 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p < 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p < 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p < 0.001), and high PB score (p < 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors

A Proportional–Integral Feedback Controlled Automatic Flow Chemistry System to Produce On‐Demand AgAu Alloy Nanoboxes

Mixed‐metal nanoparticles present a challenging task for synthesis with high precision and reproducibility due to the complex interplay of compositional and reaction condition factors. The present study demonstrates a highly precise and automated flow chemistry technique for synthesizing AgAu alloy nanoboxes with tailored optical properties. The synthesis process involves a proportional–integral (PI) feedback control mechanism that enables accurate regulation of reaction parameters, such as the flow rate, to achieve the target AgAu nanoboxes having a desired UV–vis absorbance wavelength. The PI control algorithm is built on the first‐order plus dead‐time model, which correlates the flow rate of the precursors with the maximum absorbance peaks of the resultant nanoalloy products. Based on the difference between the real‐time measured UV–vis absorbance wavelength and the target wavelength, the flow rate of the precursor (i.e., reagent concentration) is tuned via an iterative process until the real‐time absorbance wavelength of the AgAu alloy nanoboxes is matched with the target setpoint. The implementation of a PI feedback control mechanism in a flow chemistry system can offer a highly versatile and universal strategy for generating on‐demand complex nanomaterials with significantly enhanced consistency and reliability by mitigating concentration variations and minimizing the need for human intervention

When the Poor Buy the Rich: New Evidence on Wealth Effects of Cross-Border Acquisitions

The growing trend of merging and acquisition (M&A) investments from emerging to developed market economies over the last two decades motivates the question on the long-run effects of M&A on the wealth of emerging markets. This paper contributes to the current literature on cross-border M&A (CBMA) by focusing on the long-term effects of this event on the bidder’s stock return in emerging markets. To address the challenges of finding an accurate measure for the effects, this study applies the propensity score matching framework in tandem with difference-in-differences (DID) on a comprehensive dataset over the 1990–2010 period. The analyses show evidence of systematic detrimental impacts of cross-border M&A on shareholders’ welfare in the long run, to a certain extent, diverging from the existing literature, which mainly highlights the positive effects for certain types of M&A. The striking finding is that such strong negative effects remain persistent even when various factors previously known as capable of suppressing underperformance are considered. Our study is in line with the growing landscape of cross-border mergers and acquisitions from the “poor” to the “rich” countries

Metamaterial-enhanced vibrational absorption spectroscopy for the detection of protein molecules

From visible to mid-infrared frequencies, molecular sensing has been a major successful application of plasmonics because of the enormous enhancement of the surface electromagnetic nearfield associated with the induced collective motion of surface free carriers excited by the probe light. However, in the lower-energy terahertz (THz) region, sensing by detecting molecular vibrations is still challenging because of low sensitivity, complicated spectral features, and relatively little accumulated knowledge of molecules. Here, we report the use of a micron-scale thin-slab metamaterial (MM) architecture, which functions as an amplifier for enhancing the absorption signal of the THz vibration of an ultrathin adsorbed layer of large organic molecules. We examined bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a prototype large protein molecule and Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and 3,3'-diethylthiatricarbocyanine iodide (DTTCI) as examples of small molecules. Among them, our MM significantly magnified only the signal strength of bulky BSA. On the other hand, DTTCI and Rh6G are inactive, as they lack low-frequency vibrational modes in this frequency region. The results obtained here clearly demonstrate the promise of MM-enhanced absorption spectroscopy in the THz region for detection and structural monitoring of large biomolecules such as proteins or pathogenic enzymes

Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Capped with Quaterthiophene for Transistor and Resistor Memory Devices

Recently, the fabrication of nonvolatile memory devices based on gold nanoparticles has been intensively investigated. In this work, we report on the design and synthesis of new semiconducting quaterthiophene incorporating hexyl thiol group (4TT). Gold nanoparticles capped with 4TT (4TTG) were prepared in a two-phase liquid-liquid system. These nanoparticles have diameters in the range 2–6 nm and are well dispersed in the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) host matrix. The intermolecular interaction between 4TT and P3HT could enhance the charge-transport between gold nanoparticles and P3HT. Transfer curve of transistor memory device made of 4TTG/P3HT hybrid film exhibited significant current hysteresis, probably arising from the energy level barrier at 4TTG/P3HT interface. Additionally, the polymer memory resistor structure with an active layer consisting of 4TTG and P3HT displayed a remarkable electrical bistable behavior